Neira
by Fairytale Dream
Summary: Story of a wood nymph princess, her love for a mortal man, and her conflict with the god Apollo. Also involves Zeus and Artemis. Based on Greek Mythology with my added flair.


Neira  
  
Note: Neira and Cerix are original characters of my own creation so don't take them without permission, and the gods of course are from the wonderful realm of Greek Mythology.  
  
The fair, slender wood nymph sat beneath an old cypress tree in the center of the forest, resting her head against the tender bark and brushing her hand through the delicate leaves of the fern beside her. She let her eyes slowly close, and she hummed quietly, her flowing voice matching the gentle movement of the brook on the edge of the woods. Her thoughts wandered once again to her hopes of seeing Cerix today. He would be returning from his long journey through the mountains of the north. She dreamed of his dazzling smile and intense green eyes, framed by his dark locks of hair, and remembered the last time she had heard his soothing voice and felt the touch of his warm hands on hers.  
  
Then Neira was pulled from her daze by another nymph tapping her shoulder. "There is a young man looking for you," the girl said. "A handsome one, too."  
  
Neira jumped up quickly, no doubt in her mind as to who the man could be. The other girl laughed and pointed in the direction of the tallest and oldest tree in the forest, where gatherings were frequently held. Neira skipped joyfully to meet Cerix, her love, with a bright smile upon her face.  
  
He wrapped her in a tight embrace and stared longingly into her eyes, ruffling her long brown hair with his hand and whispering, "Neira, my Dryad Princess, how long I have waited to hold you so. Tell me my dear, how have you been?"  
  
She gazed back at him, returning his affection. "Missing you terribly, but still managing to carry on," she said. "I'm so much better now that you are back."  
  
"As am I. Where can we go to be alone?"  
  
She led him to a far corner of the woods, a place where no creatures dwelled and they could sit in peace. Enclosed by the protective trees, they would not be interrupted. Neira reclined on the ground and beckoned Cerix down beside her, and for a few moments they sat in silence, caught in one another's gaze. But she looked away when he put his arm around her tiny shoulders. He frowned and asked, "What is troubling you?"  
  
"You should know as well as I what has been bothering me. You are growing older and I am not. It's what happens when a nymph loves a mortal man."  
  
"Yes, I know. But there is no one else with whom I would rather spend my short life. I love you more than I could possibly love any earthly woman."  
  
"I feel the same way each time I look into your eyes. But what do you suggest I do when you reach the inevitable point of death, taking my heart with you to the grave and leaving me here to live alone immortally?"  
  
"I have heard there are ways a dryad can give a man immortal life, and I am willing to take it if it means I can stay with you, and we will never again be lonely," Cerix said tentatively.  
  
Neira nodded solemnly. "That is true, I can give you a life free from death or age, and you would stay just as you are for eternity. But if I give you that gift, you will be forever bound to me and can never again leave the forest. Are you sure you could do that?"  
  
"I do not want to reach old age if you have to stay behind, and I do not plan on leaving this place again for that would mean leaving you. I wish to remain forever by your side."  
  
"Then it will be done at once. Come to the tree of my birth, the cypress that holds my life and immortality, planted by Artemis herself and given to the dryads long ago." She stood and pulled Cerix by the hand, bringing him back to the tree under which she had been waiting earlier. She fingered a piece of bark near the bottom and pulled it off. She held it to her chest for a moment and closed her eyes thoughtfully. Then she breathed in deeply and exhaled into her hand, letting her breath flow slowly over the bark. She opened her eyes and held the bit of bark out to Cerix. He took it and looked at her curiously.  
  
"I have breathed my immortality and youth into this bark that forged my existence. Eat it and you too will live forever as a dweller of the woods."  
  
As Cerix began to do as she said, they were startled by another male voice calling Neira's name. "Neira! My beloved, most delicate dryad, I have returned for you," it said.  
  
Cerix looked at her in surprise and they both turned to find the source of the voice. Their eyes fell upon a man with yellow hair and shining blue eyes. Neira stared at him in contempt, recognizing him at once as the god Apollo in his human form, for this was not the first time he had pursued her. "Come to me, my dear, do not resist," he called loudly.  
  
"I will not go with you!" she shouted. "Why must you trouble me? You know that I will not give in. I love Cerix and no one else."  
  
Still Apollo advanced towards them. "If you would only love me, you would be so much happier," he said. "Come with me to Olympus, and you will live the life of a goddess as my bride."  
  
Cerix stepped up. "You can't take her away! She has the right to choose her path and her happiness." Then he took Neira by the hand, and together they fled. He dropped the piece of bark, and it fell to the ground and was lost amongst the grass.  
  
Apollo let them go, but he looked up to the sky and cried out to his father Zeus on Mount Olympus, asking him to bring vengeance upon Cerix so that he could claim Neira as his wife.  
  
Neira and Cerix ran through the woods until they were nearly out of breath and sure they were safe.  
  
"I didn't know that Apollo desired you that way," Cerix said.  
  
"He began coming to me when you first left, but I resisted him, for I knew you would be back for me."  
  
"I won't let him take you from me. We must go elsewhere, where we can be together and safe from harm."  
  
Neira shook her head. "I cannot leave the forest, and I wouldn't even if I could. The woods are my home and the animals my friends, and I must look after the creatures who answer to me."  
  
"Then I will also stay and protect you." He took her hand again and brought it to his lips.  
  
Then a sudden bolt of blinding lightning soared across the sky, accompanied by deafening thunder.  
  
"It is the thunderbolt of Zeus!" Neira warned, but it was too late. In answer to Apollo, the god had cast his bolt upon the man she loved, and Cerix lay dead amidst the leaves on the ground. She shrieked and collapsed beside him, weeping incessantly against his chest. Then she remembered Apollo and knew that he would be back for her. In desperation she called out to the goddess Artemis.  
  
"Goddess of the Wild and Guardian of the Wood! Keep me from Apollo so that I may mourn in peace. I do not wish to be his bride, or to leave my home to be with anyone else but Cerix. But he is dead."  
  
"I will protect you from my brother," came the comforting voice of Artemis, whispering through the soothing breeze of the trees. "From now on you will be hidden from him, invisible to Apollo and all others like him who wish to take you away."  
  
"But what will I do without Cerix? I fear I must kill myself or suffer eternally from grief and loneliness."  
  
"You are one of the rulers of the woods, and the creatures look to you for safety, guidance, and friendship," Artemis reminded her. "Stand brave for them, and someday you will find happiness again."  
  
Neira nodded, trusting the goddess who so dearly loved the nymphs and wild creatures of the forest. "You're right. Thank you. I do hope that I will have the courage to keep on going, for the sake of my people and the animals that care for me as much as I cherish them."  
  
So she lived on, looking after the woodland creatures and enjoying her forest life, reasonably happy. But nonetheless, it was a life deprived of the true love she and Cerix had once shared. Every autumn, Neira still mourns for her lost love Cerix, and the trees of the forest follow suit and cry for their forlorn princess, shedding their leaves as bitter tears. 


End file.
